Trey Carlock achieved a settlement in his civil lawsuit against Kanakuk Kamps and other codefendants, but the money came at a terrible price.
At the request of Kanakuk and as a term of his settlement, Trey was silenced by a nondisclosure agreement that prevented him from ever sharing his story. Trey, a brilliant National Merit Scholar and neuroscience researcher, took his own life in 2019.
After that devastating loss, Trey’s sister, Elizabeth Phillips, turned her grief into action. She made it her mission to change the system and help survivors regain their voices.
Due to her tireless efforts and those of other advocates, nondisclosure agreements are now void and unenforceable in cases involving child sexual abuse in Missouri, and in all civil cases involving sexual violence regardless of the victim’s age in Texas.
Missouri’s legislation applies to nondisclosures signed after Aug. 28, 2025. But the Texas law, which was unanimously passed by the state’s House and Senate, doesn’t just apply to future nondisclosure agreements. It voids them all, unlocking the voices of long-silenced victims.
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The legislation has been named Trey’s Law in honor of Phillips’ brother.
“I learned so much from everything (Trey) taught me,” she said. “And now I have to go into the world, and take those lessons, and turn them into action.”
Phillips said the real fight is still ahead of her. She has founded No More Victims, which is advocating for legal reforms that would give child victims more time to bring civil claims against their abusers and working toward the passage of Trey’s Law federally and in additional states.
Texas’ resounding passage of Trey’s Law has already sparked progress around the country. The Alabama legislature is considering Trey’s Law, and the legislation will be filed in Oklahoma and Georgia this session. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz is carrying a version of Trey’s Law federally.
“The conversation around nondisclosure agreements has caught on like a wildfire,” said state Rep. Jeff Leach, who chairs the Texas House Judiciary Committee and championed the legislation. “When you look closely, and you uncover exactly what’s happening in these situations, it is shocking to its core.”
But protecting children from negligent institutions doesn’t end with empowering abuse victims, Phillips said. The types of problems associated with Kanakuk are symptoms of a larger issue.
Camps around the country are underregulated. Fifteen states don’t mandate criminal background checks for camp staff or volunteers, nine don’t require that day camps be licensed, and eight don’t require licensing of residential camps.
The lack of regulation means that summer camps which house children overnight are held to a lower standard than childcare centers and schools.
“When it comes to camps, parents have their heads in the sand. The public needs to understand how underregulated camps are, start asking the right questions, and then join the fight in protecting kids through better policy,” Phillips said. “If we prioritize children and kid safety, all the other priorities seem to fall into place.”
The Campaign for Camp Safety, which is pushing for common sense, systemic reforms that would make summer camps around the country safer, is an initiative of No More Victims.
Launched by parents of the 27 young girls who lost their lives in the catastrophic July 4 flooding at Camp Mystic, the Campaign has already succeeded in creating change in Texas, where new camp safety legislation took effect on Sept. 5.
“Enough is enough. The world does not need to lose any more Treys, or any more girls like the precious Heaven’s 27 that died at Camp Mystic,” Phillips said. “We can do better.”
